Brassiere



Feb. 2, 1950 F. E. EvERlT-r 2,497,934

BRASSIERE Filed Feb. 26, 1947 JNVENTOR.

Patented Feb. 2l, 1950 i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BRASSIRE EayEdith Everitt, SantafMonicayCalif.. Application retmaryzc, 1947;se'ria1N0. 730,961

(CLLHZ) ZClaims.

1 UTl'iiswinvention relates to undergarments of the general classincludingbrassires, corselets, and'foundation garments. The general object of my invention is to provide a garment of this type which Ian :improved .cup construction which will provide greaterV comfort to theswearer than brassiresvofconventional design.

- Anotherobiectaof. my invention `-fisfto provide afgarment of this; .type having Vimproved" ability to* prevent 1 vsagging and breaking down of the breasts.

. .Another object is to prov-ide a garment of this type which will lie smoothly :beneath an outer garment itogive an. improved and more natural appearance tothe body contour.

, A further-.object is to-providesuch a garment which will relieve the. strained `feeling that ordinarily accompanies the wearing of' a conventionalbrassire or thev like.

Other objects of tha-invention wil-lbecomera'pparent .in the .ensuing.specications, considered in connection `with vthe appended drawings, in which:

,Eig.. `1. isa front. View` ,of a `brassire embodying my invention;

.Eg,..2 isaproleofthe bust of aperson` wearing .my improved brassire;

' Fig. 3 is. .a bust, prole. .with my .improved brassire shown 'in section;

Fig. 4 is a View of the triangular vportion cimaterialv removed from the cup. .portion of my 4irnproved brassire, illustrating the .shape thereof; and' Fig.. 5 is a front View of. the, inventionembodied ina different type, .of brassire.

n an example of one. iormin whiclithe inven tion maybe embodied, I. haveshowndn lilies.v 1v tov 3 inclusive a. brassire .of .a .type .commonly virorn'byA women of mature. age, in which a `pair ofbreast cups B ,generally conoidalin shape, are mounted 'in a. waist bandorbelt. 1'.

fEach ofthe .cups includesa. lower wall portion 8f Awhich is shaped to .correspond generally to somewhat less .than a quarter section .of a spherical surface. The. lower. edge oiteach` ywall portion ais joined by a semi-circular seam 9 to, the edge of a cutoutin the. waist band A1,. Each wall' portion 8 has a'hemstitched .freeupper edge includingl a central",l curved portion |10 and downwardly" inclined' portions llj` and l2. the outer extremities .of the upper edges of the walit'section 8 by seams. .I3 and. [.4 are; upper. wall arefiormedin a single piece of 'material andare inclined upwardly and toward each other.' Their .Joined `to.

lower` inner corners are cut away to provide diagonal edges 18, I 9 respectively, which are machine nished ("e. g., hemstitched, picoted, or overcast) but are not bound. They are arched in surface contour so as to cooperate with the:

.the apex of the conoidal surface of the cup 6.

The base edge of the triangular space 2l) is arched upwardly from the two base corners thereof, such arching corresponding Ato the inclination of the edges I! and i2 and the arched shape of the edge portion I`U. As viewed from above, along a lineof sight (indicated by the arrow 2l) inclined downwardly and substantially lying in the plane of the edges I3 and i4, however, the aperture 20 will appear triangular in shape.

The apex portion ofthe lower wall section 8, indicated by the numeral 22,.has a double-curved shape produced by gathering. the material of the wall in a dart Il, and extends upwardly to completely cover and form a support for the nipple 23 of the breast 24 that is supported in the cup 6. The apex portions 22 in effect constitute flaps o1` tongues which, because of their double curved shape. are. form retaining but which at the same time Vare .suilciently flexible to yield inwardly under the pressure of the outer garment '(such as a blouse or waist), that is worn over the brassire, so. .as to, provide a smoothly curved contourdevoid of pointed' protrusions such as are commonly produced `by theapices of the cups of a .conventional` brassire. Darts ila, substantially aligned with the central longitudinal axes of the straps 2.5 extend upwardly from the apices ofthe apertures Z0'. .Shoulder straps 25 are attached at their respective ends to the upper extremities of the cups 6i and to the portions 26 of the waist band` .l which extend around the back .of the wearer. 'The apices of the apertures 2l) are in' substantial Aalignment with the center lines of the straps 25'. As a result, the weight of each breast is. transmitted equally from both sides;`

. .since .the weight. is transmitted. apiifarsiyireml the sides of the. breast,` andthere isA noY upward.

pull against the nap portions 22, the entire periphery ofeach breast from the bottom to the side regions thereof is lifted and moulded away from a sagging shape and toward a conical shape. Accentuated, point-like protrusions 'at the apices of the breasts are, however, avoided because of the slight inward yielding of the ap portions `22, under the tension in the edge I0, II, I2, and under the light pressure of the outer garment worn over the brassire. The tension in the edge I0, II, I2 is effective to urge the flap member 22 inwardly (or, more accurately, to restrain the ap member against outward bending, because the seams I3 and I4 combine with the free edge I0,

I I, I2 to constitute in effect an arched, catenaryy like tension member anchored at both ends (in the seam 9) and therefore constraining inwardly at all points along the length thereof in opposition to the outward pressure of the breast. Consequently, the flap member 22 tends to induce a smooth, non-pointed curvature in the apex of the cup, unaided by the pressure of the outer garment, and such pressure only serves to add to the rounding eiect in accordance with the conformation and tightness of the outer garment. At the same time, the catenary arch effect of the tension member enables the flap member 22 to provide su'icient support for the apices of the breasts to support them in lifted positions -without pointing. The overall effect is to mould the breasts to shapes most nearly approaching a natural, youthful form, most highly desired.

Since the weight is transmitted to the straps 25 solely along diagonal paths extending upwardly from the side regions of the lower wall section 8 and there is no upward pull against the central or apex portion of the cups, a considerable amount of discomfort that is caused by such direct central pull in the conventional brassire is avoided, and the brassire of my invention is therefore much more comfortable to the wearer than the conventional brassire.

The waistband 'I terminates in back straps 26 which are adapted to be secured together at their ends by a conventional hook and eye or other equivalent fasteners 21.

The upper extremity of the garment is defined by diagonal edges 28 extending upwardly and outwardly from the center of the brassire and diagonal edges 29 extending downwardly and outwardly from the strap 25. These edges, and the lower edge of the waistband I are hemstitched, picoted, or otherwise bound without usingr binding tape or other binding of a heavy nature.

In Fig. I have shown a brassire for a more petite figure, embodying cups lia having 'adjacent corners crossed and secured at 3I at the center of the brassire, having shoulder straps a secured to their upper extremities and waist straps 26a secured to their outer extremities. Each of the cups 6a are constructed from a single piece of fabric, with a sector thereof removed to denne edges which are secured together by a seam 32 extending downwardly from the center of the base edge Ill, II, and I2 of the aperture 2U, to produce the conoidal shape of the cup. The cups 5a are provided with apertures 20 dened on their lower sides by flap portions 22 which, as in the other form of the invention, extend above the apices of the cups and are adapted to completely cover and support the nipples. The edge portions yIII, II, and I2, I8 and I3 are similar in arrangement vand in their relation to the cups 6a, to the relationship described in connection with the main form of the invention.

tween 1.5 and 2.0 times the distance Y from the base to the apex of the aperture. As a specific example of such dimensions, the size of the piece of material 35 cut out of an aperture 20, may for a size 36 brassire or larger be such that the base dimension X (Fig. 4) is 3% inches while the height Y is 2 inches. For sizes 34 and smaller I prefer to make the cutout 1A; inch narrower along each of the edges I8 and I9. Fig. 1 of the drawing illustrates accurately the preferredproportioning of aperture and cup dimensions.

Actual tests have proven that a brassire constructed in accordance with my invention is superior to conventional brassires from the standpoint of increased comfort to the wearer, preventing the sagging and breaking down of breasts, preserving naturalness, and avoiding undesirably pointed protrusions at the apices of the cups. My brassire relieves both shoulder and breast strain while at the same time molding the breasts to a most desirable natural shape. As to the relieving of shoulder strain, it has been my experience that the conventional brassire produces the feeling of the shoulders being dragged forwardly and downwardly, especially when the brassire is attached to or part of a foundation garment. My invention eliminates this draggingv sensation and improves posture, by leaving the shoulders and chest unrestrained.

The double curvature of the lip portion 22 is such that the upper extremity thereof curves back over the nipple sufficiently, and extends upwardly to a suiicient height relative to the remainder of the cup, so that the nippleis retained during all normal body andarm movements and even during exercising activities, and is not permitted to slip into the aperture 20.

I claim:

1. In a garment of the brassire type, a breast cup including a lower wall section of sheet fabric and a pair of sheet fabric wall portions joined by seams to the side extremities of said lower wail section and converging upwardly, said pair of wall portions having downwardly and outwardly diverging lower inner edges spaced from said lower wall section to denne a triangular opening, saidr cup of sheet fabric including a lower section and an upper section, said upper section including.,

downwardly diverging portions having vdownwardly diverging lower inner edges spaced from said lower wall section to dene a triangular opening, said lower wall having an upper portion havingan upwardly arched upper edge defining the base of saidy opening, said upperv portion constituting the apex portion of said cup and providing ayielding support for the apex of* thev 5 6 rxlrg arranged to completely cover` the nipple UNITED STATES PATENTS FAY EDITH EVERITT. Number Name Date 2,174,881 Holister Oct. 3, 1939 REFERENCES CITED 5 2,267,365 Blum Dec. 23, 1941 The following references are of record in the 2278332 Rasch Mar' 31 1942 le of this patent: 

